CP Frederik & CP Mary's visit to India: February 26 - March 1, 2023

[polyesco]

https://www.kongehuset.dk/en/news/th...visit-to-india

The Crown Prince Couple on official visit to India

From 26 February to 1 March 2023, TRH The Crown Prince and The Crown Princess will visit the densely populated country India together with a Danish business delegation, which will total 36 companies.

The main focus of the visit is green transition with special focus on water and energy. Under the theme “Partners for Green and Sustainable Progress”, the Danish delegation and Indian government representatives and business leaders will take part in seminars and company visits aimed at promoting export opportunities for Danish companies in the country and strengthening the green strategic partnership between Denmark and India.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Minister of Environment Magnus Heunicke and Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities Lars Aagaard will accompany the Crown Prince Couple during the visit in India, which will take place in the capital New Delhi and the southeastern Indian city Chennai. In addition, the Crown Prince Couple will visit the city Agra, where Their Royal Highnesses will see the world heritage structures Taj Mahal and Agra Fort.

The official visit and business promotional campaign in India take place following the visit by India’s prime minister, HE Narendra Modi, to Denmark in May of last year. During this visit, Her Majesty The Queen and the Crown Prince Couple received the prime minister at Amalienborg for an audience and subsequent dinner in Christian VII’s Palace. The previous year, The Queen had received India’s foreign minister, HE Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, at Fredensborg Palace, and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also went on an official visit to the country the same year.

Over the years, The Crown Prince and The Crown Princess, either together or individually, have led various business and cultural promotional campaigns around the world. Last year, the Crown Prince Couple went on green business promotional campaigns in The Netherlands and Vietnam, and The Crown Princess also visited Norway’s capital, Oslo, in June to focus on sustainable urban development. The goal of the Crown Prince Couple’s visits abroad has always been to strengthen the relations between Denmark and the countries visited and to support the growth and position of Danish companies in the relevant markets.

[muriel]

This should be an interesting trip. Query if a more detailed schedule for the trip will be published later this week?

[Stefan]

Interesting that this trip takes place so short after the Queen's operation. Had thought Frederik would be Regent for some time.

[polyesco]

Originally Posted by Stefan

Interesting that this trip takes place so short after the Queen's operation. Had thought Frederik would be Regent for some time.

He is now listed as regent from today to the 25.

[Izzie]

Originally Posted by Stefan

Interesting that this trip takes place so short after the Queen's operation. Had thought Frederik would be Regent for some time.

Maybe either Joachim or Benedikte will take over during the days that Mary and Frederik are abroad.

As for the timing, yes, it is interesting but maybe it had been scheduled far in advance and could not be changed. Also, it was announced on quite short notice.

Glad to see an official trip finally announced for the DRF.

[Muhler]

There has been a lot of diplomatic footwork behind this visit, because it's actually only in recent year the relationship between DK and India has become normal again, after some twenty years of strained relations.

I'll explain why later.

As India is a huge market Danish businesses are of course most interested in this being a success.
But the India government is also interested in good relations with DK. Not so much because of the Danish market, but more because the Indian government is sucking up to EU.
The reason being that the Hindu-nationalist government has managed to sour the relationship with practically every singly Muslim country in the world.
India has also been a little too keen in their benign attitude towards Russia and that has basically come to bite them in the behind.

India is competing with China who has a very solid and longstanding foothold in EU. India is vet much interested in taking over as much of the products China is exporting to EU, while EU is looking for alternative suppliers to China - in order to avoid political blackmail.

But the main thing is perhaps energy and infrastructure.
India is in desperate need to develop its infrastructure in pretty much every field, something DK among others specialize in setting up.
And since India managed to annoy the Muslim countries and Russia is turning out to be a liability, India is in desperate need of alternative energy sources as well. That is a sector DK also specialize in.

[Hans-Rickard]

Originally Posted by Stefan

Interesting that this trip takes place so short after the Queen's operation. Had thought Frederik would be Regent for some time.

I suppose a Rigsforstander will be announced for the India-trip as soon as they know wether it will be Joachim or Benedikte.

Frederik is to recive new ambassadors both tomorrow and on 3:rd march so he will definitely be regent for awhile

[polyesco]

Thank you Muhler for the added information.

This visit is definitely a continuation, I think, of the State visit from India last year
https://www.billedbladet.dk/kongelig...-vaek-faa-dage

"The visit of the Royal Couple will be the first visit from the Danish Royal family in two decades. His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince had last visited India in 2003. Earlier, Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II, had visited India in 1963 as Crown Princess."
https://mea.gov.in/press-releases.ht...to_India_Febru

Frederik in 2003
https://indiavision.dk/danish-busine...s-to-india.php

1963 Margrethe
https://c8.alamy.com/comp/E0WR64/nov...ast-E0WR64.jpg

[kalnel]

Is it necessary to have a regent when the Queen is in the country, if she is coherent? I can imagine when she's under anesthesia or taking medications that might knock her out that a regent would be necessary, but if she's alert and able to communicate, I wonder if they need one.

[Izzie]

Some more information about the visit:

During the visit to New Delhi, HRH The Crown Prince and The Crown Princess meet, among others. with the President, Vice-President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of India. They also visit the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Gandhi's memorial. The Crown Prince opens the business conference "India – Denmark: Partners for Green and Sustainable Progress", and The Crown Princess visits, among other things, a public hospital.

As part of the visit, the Crown Prince Couple and the Minister for Foreign Affairs will open the silver exhibition "Silver Treasures from Denmark and India" at the National Museum in New Delhi. The exhibition is the result of a collaboration between Museum Kolding and the Indian National Museum and is an activity under the cultural exchange agreement between Denmark and India, which was signed during Prime Minister Modi's visit to Denmark in the spring of 2022. The agreement will support strengthened cooperation in the field of culture.

Together, the Crown Prince Couple host a large banquet for Indian and Danish businessmen. In Chennai, the focus is on company visits and cooperation between Denmark and the state of Tamil Nadu.

https://via.ritzau.dk/pressemeddelel...aseId=13671277

I wonder if this is another reason for visit:https://via.ritzau.dk/pressemeddelel...aseId=13671009
Denmark to Help India Clean UP the Ganges River

[muriel]

Originally Posted by polyesco

Thank you Muhler for the added information.

This visit is definitely a continuation, I think, of the State visit from India last year
https://www.billedbladet.dk/kongelig...-vaek-faa-dage

"The visit of the Royal Couple will be the first visit from the Danish Royal family in two decades. His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince had last visited India in 2003. Earlier, Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II, had visited India in 1963 as Crown Princess."
https://mea.gov.in/press-releases.ht...to_India_Febru

Frederik in 2003
https://indiavision.dk/danish-busine...s-to-india.php

1963 Margrethe
https://c8.alamy.com/comp/E0WR64/nov...ast-E0WR64.jpg

It is interesting that the Queen never visited India since 1963.

[An Ard Ri]

Originally Posted by muriel

It is interesting that the Queen never visited India since 1963.

And over 20 years since the Crown Prince had last visited India!

[muriel]

Originally Posted by An Ard Ri

And over 20 years since the Crown Prince had last visited India!

I agree, seems odd.

[Izzie]

Official program for the visit. Jampacked as always
https://www.kongehuset.dk/nyheder/pr...esoeg-i-indien

[An Ard Ri]

The first day will have visits to the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort,I can imagine the beautiful photos already

[Muhler]

Well, well, the high-red carpet is rolled out for them.
Foreign Minister, Vice-President and President as well.

The first day in particular is going to be a treat for us. Great photos coming up!

How is the weather in north-central India at this time of year?

[Izzie]

Originally Posted by Muhler

Well, well, the high-red carpet is rolled out for them.
Foreign Minister, Vice-President and President as well.

The first day in particular is going to be a treat for us. Great photos coming up!

How is the weather in north-central India at this time of year?

Not sure if this website will help
https://mausam.imd.gov.in/imd_latest...t_bulletin.php

I also noticed the impressive welcome they will be getting from Gov't officials. As usual, they have a jampacked schedule with their usual pattern of one of the days splitting up to cover more ground. And Mary also making the hospital visit in her role with the Mary Foundation.

[Izzie]

From the MFA Twitter
https://twitter.com/DanishMFA/status...qsspczlMA&s=19

[polyesco]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CpFhSwZP..._web_copy_link

The Taj Mahal is located in a small park with pools and trimmed thuja cypress trees. It seemed to float in the moonlight, which was just hitting the dome when we arrived.” ✍️ This is how Her Majesty the Queen wrote as a young Princess back in 1963 about her impressions of the North Indian marble monument Taj Mahal....

[Muhler]

As I mentioned in a previous post it's only in recent years the relationship between DK and India has begun to normalize - at least on government level.

From memory:
Back in the late 80s early 90s there was a separatist movement in Punjab IIRC, which was quite a nuisance for the Indian military at the time. They were supplied with weapons and ammunition by gun-runners, some of them foreigners. One of them a Dane. Some of these gun-runners did it for money, others for ideological reasons. IMO the Dane in question was simply naïve.
Anyway, the Indian authorities rolled up the organization the Dane was a member of, most were arrested - the Dane got away to DK.
The Indian authorities knew who he was and had a case against him and requested he be extradited. A Danish court ruled no, not because they didn't believe he could be convicted, but because it was feared he would be tortured and executed - probably a very real concern at the time.
India had lots of problems with both Sikh, Muslim and Hindu militants back then - to some extent still have.
Anyway, the Indian government was miffed - and not being able or perhaps rather willing to understand that Danish courts are independent from political influence, the Indians retaliated by putting the relationship between the two countries on ice. For quite a number of years actually.

This visit should end that state of affairs. Hence why it's an important visit. And as mentioned before: India really don't have that many friends among their neighbors right now.

- And finally. Even though India used bullying tactic against DK, I can't really blame them that much. That fool delivered weapons to people, who killed Indian soldiers and officials, so of course they wanted to get their hands on him, just as we would, had it been the other was around. I mean if you play with fire, you risk getting burned.
Keeping him safe here and out of jail, sure has been expensive for DK!